A major land purchase in Georgetown County, South Carolina, is moving ahead as local officials support plans to turn 4,148 acres in Carvers Bay into a new state forest.
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officials → move → forest
According to a report by the
Coastal Observer, the Georgetown County Board of Education voted to send formal letters of support to the South Carolina Forestry Commission for its planned purchase of the large tract on Eaddy Road, outside Dunbar Landing in the western part of the county.
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Board → accord → county
The 4,148-acre parcel is part of a larger 8,000-acre forest bought for $34.2 million by two nonprofit organisations, The Conservation Fund and the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation.
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parcel → buy → organisations
The property had attracted strong interest from commercial developers before the conservation groups stepped in to protect it.
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groups → attract → it
Under the proposed state plan, the remaining part of the 8,000-acre property along the Black River will become part of the Wildlife Management Area program run by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
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part → propose → Resources
The school board's support also has a direct financial connection to state forest operations.
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support → have → operations
Under South Carolina law, the Forestry Commission gives 25 percent of the gross revenue from timber harvesting and state forest management to the local county.
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Commission → give → county
The money helps support public schools.
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money → help → schools
School Board Member Eileen Johnson welcomed the proposed acquisition during the board meeting.
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Johnson → welcome → meeting
She said development pressure in the southern part of the county is already limited by protected areas such as the Francis Marion National Forest.
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pressure → say → Forest
"We've got to preserve everything we can," Johnson said, according to the
Coastal Observer.
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Johnson → get → Observer
Johnson also said public recreational access would be an important part of the new Carvers Bay State Forest once the South Carolina Department of Administration completes the purchase.
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Department → say → purchase
Along with supporting the Carvers Bay project, the Georgetown County School Board also backed a separate conservation purchase involving the 3,492-acre Arcadia East tract on the Waccamaw Neck.
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Board → support → Neck
Supporting the Arcadia East purchase means the school district will give up possible future tax income from a large residential and commercial development that Georgetown County originally approved in 2002.
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County → support → 2002
The long-term development plan allowed for 2,451 homes, a 500-room resort hotel and large amounts of office and commercial space.
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plan → allow → space
A county study from 2002 estimated that fully developing Arcadia East could have produced as much as $153.8 million in total tax revenue each year.
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East → estimate → revenue
The development would have made its residents and businesses the largest taxpayers in the county.
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residents → make → county
However, the estimate did not include school taxes, which historically made up about two-thirds of local property tax bills.
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which → include → bills
It also did not account for inflation or changing infrastructure costs.
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It → account → inflation
Last year, the Arcadia East property generated about $5,200 in combined county and school district taxes.
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property → generate → taxes
The Department of Natural Resources plans to acquire Arcadia East with help from the South Carolina Office of Resilience and two nonprofit conservation organisations, the Open Space Institute and Ducks Unlimited.
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Department → plan → Resilience
The nonprofit groups will hold the property title until all required state funding approvals are completed.
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approvals → hold → title
The Georgetown County Council has also formally supported the Arcadia East deal, joining the school board in backing the purchase.
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Council → support → purchase
"We're thrilled to have support from both the county and the school board," Emily Purcell, director of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited, told the
Coastal Observer.
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Purcell → thrill → Observer
"We're excited to hopefully work towards a great conservation outcome in Georgetown County."
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We → work → County
The new effort builds on other conservation work in the area.
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effort → build → area
In 2007, a permanent conservation easement was placed on 3,612 acres of the Arcadia West property west of U.S. Highway 17.
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easement → place → Highway
Ducks Unlimited also holds and manages that easement.
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Unlimited → hold → easement
Responding to concerns about the possible loss of tax revenue from taking thousands of acres out of future development plans, Johnson said long-term land protection is more important than short-term tax income.
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protection → respond → income
"We've got plenty of land.
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We → get → land
I'm not worried about taxes right now," Johnson said.
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Johnson → say → taxes
The Aporia
